Tribune-Herald
Tribune-Herald
The University of Hawaii at Hilo softball team will honor six seniors today when the Vulcans host Hawaii Pacific University in a season-ending doubleheader.
The Pacific West Conference twinbill between the Vulcans (24-18 overall, 18-11 PacWest) and Sea Warriors (28-18, 20-10) will start at 1 p.m. at the UHH field.
Following the two games, UHH head coach Jaime Wallin, her staff and Vulcan fans will honor seniors Aisha Sueda, Nicole Alconcel, Amber Waracka, Jessica Pepin, Bryanna Hardy and Emily Heinemann.
Sueda, a second baseman out of Hilo High School, has so far had a terrific senior season. In 41 games, she leads the Vulcans in hitting (.397), hits (50), home runs (6), runs batted in (35), slugging percentage (.595) and on-base percentage (.445). She also has a .960 fielding percentage.
Alconcel, a shortstop out of Baldwin High on Maui, is batting .282 in 42 games, with 37 hits, six doubles, two triples and four home runs. She has a .450 slugging percentage and anchors the Vulcan infield, sporting a .977 field percentage.
Waracka, a hard-throwing right-handed pitcher out of Kamehameha Schools on Oahu, has a staff best 11-8 record and 12 complete games in 26 starts. She has pitched 131.1 innings with 110 strikeouts, 54 walks, and a 3.09 earned run average while holding opposing teams to a .228 batting average.
Pepin, a crafy right-handed pitcher out of Fremont, Calif., has a 7-6 record and seven complete games in 14 starts. She has hurled 88.0 innings with 28 strikeouts, 31 walks and a 2.23 ERA. She has held opponents to a .233 batting average as well as throwing a no-hitter earlier this season.
Hardy, a talented outfielder out of Simi Valley, Calif., is batting .308 in 42 games, with 37 hits, a team-high 10 doubles and 11 RBIs. She has a .392 slugging percentage and a .407 on-base percentage. She also has a .950 fielding percentage.
Heinemann, a utility player out of La Crescenta, Calif., has come off the bench and played in 29 games this season, including eight starts. She is hitting .160 with four hits, four RBIs and four runs scored. She still has a year of eligibility remaining but will graduate this year and skip a final season.
Heading into today’s final doubleheader, HPU is in fourth place and UHH fifth in the PacWest.
California Baptist (45-6) tops the conference standings with a 26-4 record, followed by Dixie State (35-1) at 25-5 and Grand Canyon (33-8) at 20-8. Cal Baptist has already clinched the league’s softball title but because the Lancers are in their first season in the league, they’re not eligible to play in the NCAA D-II tournament. That means runner-up Dixie State gets the PacWest’s automatic berth in the upcoming NCAA D-II West Regional.